Monthly Archive: December 2012
“Pipe Dreams” = JOSÉ SEREBRIER: Flute Concerto with Tango; ADINA IZARRA: Pitangus Sulphuratus; CARL VINE: Pipe Dreams; GINASTERA: Impresiones de la Puna – Sharon Bezaly, flute / Australian Ch. Orch./ Richard Tognetti – BIS
Virtuoso music for flute and strings, most of it with Latin American savor.
CAGE ‘A Tribute’ = Works for Piano and Prepared Piano – Joshua Pierce, p./Robert White, tenor/American Festival of Microtonal Music Ens./Johnny Reinhard – MSR Classics (2 CDs)
Very fine introduction to the more “accessible” Cage.
New York Brass Quintet, Volume 2: “Romantic Age Brass” = LUDWIG MAURER: Five Pieces; VICTOR EWALD: Brass Quintets Nos. 2 & 3; WILHLEM RAMSOE: Quartet No. 4; OSCAR BÖHME: Brass Sextet – New Brass Quintet – Mentor Music
A very entertaining program played in fine style.
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6, “Pathetique”; Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Ov. – Swedish Ch. Orch./ Thomas Dausgaard – BIS
Superb playing and sound, but not enough beef.
ZELENKA: Sonata V in F; Sonata III in B-flat; Sonata VI in C; Andante from Symphony a 8 Concertanti in a – Monica Huggett, v./ Ensemble Marsyas – Linn
Terrific music by a composer who deserves a lot of attention, in great sound—even though the record company seems to want to disguise that fact.
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad” – Mariinsky Orch./ Valery Gergiev – Mariinsky
A second effort by Gergiev on recording this wartime symphony; perhaps worse or perhaps better than the previous effort.
The Dark Knight Rises, Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy (2012)
Plenty of action and interesting plot in this third entry in Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
* R. STRAUSS: Eine Alpensinfonie; Symphonic Fantasy from “Die Frau ohne Schatten” – Sao Paulo Sym. Orch./ Frank Shipway – BIS
************ MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ***********
Explosive sound and a richly vibrant interpretation make this the best SACD version available.
Murley/Bickert/Wallace – Test Of Time – Cornerstone Records
A musical trio of impeccable taste and swing.
Audio News for December 18, 2012
November Sales of CE Flat; Major Holiday Discount on 3D-Bee Box; Samsung TVs Add Amazon Cloud Player; eReaders Facing Extinction; Olive Developing All-In-One Music Server/Player
BACH: Cantatas Vol. 15 = “False world, I trust thee not”; “O Eternity, thou thunderous word”; “Thou Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ”; “Awaken ye, the watchman calls us” – La Petite Bande/ Sigiswald Kuijken – Accent
One-to-a-part if that matters to you—it does to me—but performed about as well as they can be.
“Recorded Music of the African Diaspora, Vol. 3” = FLORENCE B. PRICE: Concerto in One Movement; Symphony in E Minor – Karen Walwyn, p./ New Black Music Repertory Ens./ Leslie B. Dunner – Albany
Price was a pioneering composer, and it’s good to hear her work even if this recording won’t herald a Florence Price revival.
The No Refund Band – (self-produced)
Debut album kicks out the jams!
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, "Hammerklavier"; Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor – Dina Ugorskaja, p. – BR Klassik
We might suspect we hear the natural heir of Russian legend Tatiana Nikolayeva in Ms. Ugorskaja, whose powerful and poetic approach to Beethoven proves remarkably poignant.
The Lost World – Michael Stearns & Friends – Hearts of Space/ F.I.M.
A soundtrack of audiophile-oriented exotic sounds for an imaginative place in South America.
Rita Coolidge – Play Something Sweet, Blu-ray 3D (2012)
Rita Coolidge – still holding the torch…
The Whammies – Play the Music of Steve Lacy – Driff
The Steve Lacy legacy lives on.
“La Voie Triumphale” (The Triumphal Way) = BERLIOZ: Grande Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale; SAINT-SAENS: Orient et Occident March; DUKAS: Fanfare from La Peri; MILHAUD: Suite Francaise; TOMASI: Fanfares Liturgiques; BOZZA: Children’s Overture – Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces/ Ole Kristian Ruud – 2L Blu-ray+SACD
A powerful program of concert band selections in state-of-the-art surround sound.
![The Beatles – The White Album – [TrackList follows] Apple Records (1968)/ EMI Records – 2 vinyl LPs](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/BeatlesWhiteAlbumLP.jpg)
The Beatles – The White Album – [TrackList follows] Apple Records (1968)/ EMI Records – 2 vinyl LPs
Beatles release some of their best material while the band implodes.
ALFREDO CASELLA: Concerto for Orchestra; War Pages; Suite – Orch. Sinfonica di Roma/ Francesco La Vecchia – Naxos
The world premiere recording of Italian composer Alfredo Casella’s masterpiece, Concerto for Orchestra, is one of the great recordings of this year.
The Unknown ENESCU: Vol. 1 = soloists & Enescu Ens. of U. of Illinois – Toccata Classics
Many of the intimate chamber works of Enescu’s neglected violin catalogue receive their first inscriptions, a small treasure-chest of thoroughly charming pieces.
![Linn Super Audio Collection 6 – [Playlist Follows] Linn Records](https://www.audaud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/SuperAudioCollectionSAx.jpg)
Linn Super Audio Collection 6 – [Playlist Follows] Linn Records
Another excellent sampling of the label’s variety of music and artists, all in hi-res surround.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
